Curated OER
A Shocking Experience
Learners differentiate between current and static electricity, conductors and insulators, explain how energy is converted from chemical to electrical, measure voltage of batteries, collect data on voltage, and predict voltage of...
Curated OER
How a Circuit Works
Students discover the basic principles of circuits by designing and testing some of their own. They are told that circuits usually have a power source such as a battery and a resistor such as a light. Students make a circuit using a...
Curated OER
Parts of a Solar Panel-Part I
Students examine electrical contacts, solar cells, and rechargeable batteries and compare and contrast the characteristics of a solar cell to a rechargeable battery in a hands-on activity. Students complete a worksheet as they...
Curated OER
How a Circuit Works
Students explore the differences between parallel and series circuits by designing and constructing several different circuits. In small groups, they use miniature light bulbs, wires, and nine-volt batteries to build the circuits they...
Curated OER
Interactive Notes-"Electricity"
Students explore electricity. For this interactive electricity lesson, students create static electricity with balloons, observe the rate at which ice melts to identify conductors and insulators, and create a static charge. Activities...
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Elementary Circuits
In this electrical circuits worksheet, students answer 12 questions about basic circuits including identifying parts of a circuit, answering questions about shorted circuits and determining if voltage would exist at certain test points...
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Circuits and Symbols
In this circuits worksheet, students read how electricity flows through circuits and learn how to draw a circuit diagram. Students then complete 16 matching, 2 multiple choice, 14 fill in the blank, and 3 short answer questions.
Curated OER
Basic circuit troubleshooting
In this circuit activity students complete a series of questions using diagrams of different types of circuits and explain why they fail or work.
It's About Time
Exploring Energy Resource Concepts
Please turn off the lights to conserve energy. Or not, after all energy is always conserved. This first lesson in an eight-part series includes three parts. Part A contains one hands-on activity and two inquiry-based experiments on heat...
Curated OER
Make an Electric Quiz
In this electric circuits worksheet, students follow the directions to construct an electric quiz board. When the correct answer in one column is matched with the question in another, the light bulb will light up.
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Conductors, Insulators, and Semiconductors
Young scholars will investigate the differences in conductivity of materials, design a variety of complete circuits, and observe the differences between the manner in which light is produced in an incandescent light bulb and an LED.
Curated OER
Electricity Danger
Students determine how electricity is useful but also can be dangerous. They observe a teacher demonstration of the hazards associated with touching wires using a puppet, batteries, wire, and a light bulb. They devise a list of...
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Electric Circuits
Fourth graders investigate complete and incomplete circuits. Using an electrical kit that includes a D-cell battery, wiring, and a flashlight bulb, they construct a complete electric circuit that will light the light bulb. Students...
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How Do Circuits Work?
In this circuits activity, students study a diagram showing a network of wires and switches for electrons to flow from a battery to a light bulb. Students use this diagram to complete 2 fill in the blank statements.
DiscoverE
The Power of Graphene
When you think electric circuits, your pencil probably isn't the thing that comes to mind. A simple experiment lets learners test whether the graphene in pencil lead is a conductor or an insulator. If the LED bulb lights up, a conductor...
US Department of Energy
Get Connected!—An Electrical Conductivity Tester
Pupils test various materials to learn if the materials are conductors or insulators. They observe a small electric charge go through, or not go through, a material to light up a small bulb.
World Intellectual Property Organization
Learn from the Past, Create the Future: Inventions and Patents
3D printers, selfie sticks, smart watches. GPS, self-driving cars, YouTube. Imagine life without inventions. Believe it or not, these items were all invented in the last 10 years. Inventions, and the inventors responsible for them, are...
Curated OER
Batteries in Series: Voltage and Light Intensity
Students participate in a hands-on activity to explore the relationship between the number of batteries in a series circuit and its voltage. Students identify the relationship between two variables and plot points on a graph.
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Electricity
Students watch instructor present demonstrations of the basic principles of static electricity, and then conduct some of their own experiments. In small groups, students build simple circuits, using batteries, to try to light up a light...
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What Is Electricity?
Learners investigate vocabulary words associated with electricity. In this electrical lesson, students utilize the Internet to research what electricity is and how it works. Learners create an actual circuit in class using a battery,...
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Light Your Way
Students investigate how a simple series circuit functions. They design and construct a working portable flashlight, develop a written plan for the flashlight, test their flashlight for functionality and reliability, and draw the series...
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DC Series Circuits
In this circuits worksheet, students review how series circuits work, how volts are created, and how resistors effect the voltage. This worksheet has 11 problems to solve and includes the answers.
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Circuits and Symbols
In this circuits worksheet, students read about the symbols used in drawing circuit diagrams and then complete 16 matching, 2 multiple choice, and 4 short answer questions.
Curated OER
Electric Circuits
Fifth graders build a simple circuit which transmits Morse code using a battery, bulb, wire, switch, and tape. They analyze problems that arise while transmitting their messages to each other.